On the day of the Boston Marathon bombings, President Obama stood in the White House briefing room and said, “We will find out who did this; we’ll find out why they did this.”

What motivated the murderous acts allegedly committed by Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarvaev is the question on everyone’s mind. We would be surprised if it were not.

But will people remain interested in the motive if they don’t like what they hear?

Judging by the recent past, the answer might well be no. After 9/11, people wondered why anyone would kill indiscriminately by flying airplanes into buildings. The Bush administration and others leapt to an unlikely conclusion: the hijackers “hated our freedom.” That seemed to satisfy most people. But it made little sense, and based on previous incidents, we already had ample reason to believe the answer lay elsewhere. Earlier perpetrators of violence from the Middle East had made clear that what fueled their hatred of America was U.S. foreign policy in the region and the larger Muslim world. Osama bin Laden’s own fatwa against the United States named three offenses: support for Israel’s occupation of Palestine, the presence of American military forces near Muslim holy sites in Saudi Arabia, and the devastation of Iraq through 10 years of bombing and economic sanctions.

But most American officials did not want to hear -- and did not want the American people to hear -- that Muslim violence was in retaliation for U.S. foreign policy. When Ron Paul, a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, criticized U.S. interventionist foreign policy during a primary debate, he was admonished by another candidate, Rudy Giuliani, among others, who claimed he had never heard such an outrageous thing. Giuliani was either lying or unaware that the official 9/11 commission and the Pentagon had previously acknowledged that U.S. foreign policy creates resentment among Muslims.

What about the Tsarnaevs? We await the facts, and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev reportedly told authorities his acts were motivated by "religious fervor." But it’s a good bet this resentment was part of their motivation. The Tsarnaev family is Chechen, but Chechnya’s beef is with Russia, not the United States, so that seems an unlikely source of a desire to kill and injure runners and spectators in Boston.

It is more likely the young men were angered by U.S. drone warfare that has killed thousands of Muslims in Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia; brutal occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan; backing for dictators and corrupt monarchs throughout the Muslim world; and unwavering material and moral support for Israel’s oppression and humiliation of the Palestinians, with no end in sight. The Washington Post reports that a neighbor of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the older, deceased brother, told him, “In Afghanistan, most casualties are innocent bystanders killed by American soldiers.”

If revenge for U.S. foreign policy was the motive, what will happen next? Will such evidence prompt a national reconsideration of America’s decades-old imperial foreign policy? Or will it be quickly dismissed, while the bombings are exploited in an effort to double down on that foreign policy. U.S. Rep. Peter King, a Republican, has already begun that effort. (Interestingly, Alberto Gonzalez, who was attorney general under President George W. Bush, acknowledged on CNN over the weekend that U.S. foreign policy is indeed resented by Muslims abroad and prompts a desire for revenge.)

There is much we still don’t know about the Tsarnaev brothers and why they chose their deadly path. (What, if anything, did it have to do with Chechen organized crime?) Maybe it will turn out that they simply developed a hatred for what they saw as American licentiousness and felt they needed to strike out at it. (That Dzhokhar Tsarnaev partied at his college after the bombings, casts doubt on that prospect.)

It seems far more likely that the murder-by-drone of Muslim children, the no-knock night raids of Afghan homes, the daily humiliation of and violence against Palestinians, and the support for violent and corrupt rulers are what made these men want to exact vengeance against Americans.

Of course, none of this would justify killing innocents. But if we wish to prevent such wanton crimes in the future, we’d better understand what motivates the criminals who commit them.

Sheldon Richman is vice president and editor at The Future of Freedom Foundation (www.fff.org) in Fairfax, Va.

Your Opinions and Comments

Well, for goodness sake, let's get rid of this threat from extremist muslim terrorists right now!
Let's pull everything (weapons and military personnel) out of every predominantly muslim populated country in the entire world... More ›

Well, for goodness sake, let's get rid of this threat from extremist muslim terrorists right now!
Let's pull everything (weapons and military personnel) out of every predominantly muslim populated country in the entire world ... middle east, indonesia, northern Africa, etc. Then we could come home and abolish the TSA and all of Homeland Security! Think of the savings that would be, and, we could put those savings against the national debt.
Of course we in no way would want to further inflame them by allowing any remaining influence they might perceive we still retain. So, we must withdraw all our foreign aid funds to those nations at the same time. And, let's not forget we must not show any U.S. weapons of war anywhere on there land. So, we must cancel all our 'gifts' of military equipment to all countries involved ... for example F-22 fighter jets and tanks to Egypt. No, no, no.
Again, those 100's of billions in savings could be placed against the deficit and national debt.
Oh,and we must tell Israel they are on their own and we depart the area.
The result of these moves being that muslims could then feel free to beat and maim their own women, bury their children alive in their backyards for presumably bringing shame on their families, and try their damndest to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth.
The whole world would be one happy, peaceful place according to the moron who wrote this commentary and the jerks who agreed with him in their responses.

This blog contained an excessive amount verbiage trying
to justify or explain the Islam war against the western
and non Muslim nations. The word "infidel" would have
been sufficient. Don't take my word for it,... More ›

This blog contained an excessive amount verbiage trying
to justify or explain the Islam war against the western
and non Muslim nations. The word "infidel" would have
been sufficient. Don't take my word for it, read the
Koran.

"new guy"...the Middle East is NOT going to fly any drones over here. What they'll do is slip in under the cover of dark, hide themselves in the shadows, plant killing bombs to kill women and children and try to... More ›

"new guy"...the Middle East is NOT going to fly any drones over here. What they'll do is slip in under the cover of dark, hide themselves in the shadows, plant killing bombs to kill women and children and try to slip out again. They are not brave enough, have enough courage or enough of a conscious to face the people that have done nothing to them but whom they plan to kill. All Muslims are cowards. Either cause they are like venomous snakes sneaking around or not speaking out against the monsters that call themselves Muslim. If you don't object loudly that someome is using your religion to murder, then you must be a supporter!

No matter what a country does someone is going to use it for a reason to attack or be jealous of the US. In the case of Muslims, some of them are still fighting the invasion of Europe which was stopped in 732 AD. Of course,... More ›

No matter what a country does someone is going to use it for a reason to attack or be jealous of the US. In the case of Muslims, some of them are still fighting the invasion of Europe which was stopped in 732 AD. Of course, every country’s policy can affect some other country’s livelihood, but shouldn’t a country act in its best interest?
What about Thomas Jefferson's victory over the Muslims which lives on today in the Marine Hymn, with the line, "From the halls of Montezuma, to the shores of Tripoli, We fight our country's battles in the air, on land and sea."
Why is it always the US’s fault for everyone else in the world’s problems and grievances, and escape goat for lefty Americans? Tell their country to do better, we expect more from ours!

4th, off your meds again I see. OBTW, when the Muslims fly their Drones from Middle East I gave them your home address for them to drop their first bombs in USA. I am glad I am not a Jew, you sound like a Hitler lover too.... More ›

4th, off your meds again I see. OBTW, when the Muslims fly their Drones from Middle East I gave them your home address for them to drop their first bombs in USA. I am glad I am not a Jew, you sound like a Hitler lover too. Please take your meds!!!

Triple the number of Drone attacks to atone for the indiscrimate killing of the innocent. Drop so many missles and bombs that every Muslim is dead, singed, or on the run. I'm sick to death of Muslims claiming the right to... More ›

Triple the number of Drone attacks to atone for the indiscrimate killing of the innocent. Drop so many missles and bombs that every Muslim is dead, singed, or on the run. I'm sick to death of Muslims claiming the right to kill innocent civilians in the name of their God Allah (LOL! Some God they got..Allah is a pure eveil joke) or some imagined deeds of the US Govt. The old Romans had the right idea...kill the criminal and then kill their families and confiscate all their properties...wipe out the vermin.